Christian blog posts

I was recently thinking of some preacher of Ugandan Origin, who settled in Kenya and was such a great influence to the community. Actually, the people he preached-to gave him land among them and welcomed him to be part of Kenya with open arms. That was in the 1900,but if you follow that family tree, you realize majority of the men born out of his ancestry, have been great men in society- and have never lacked to feature in the list of greatness in Kenya. It’s clear from scripture that godliness has its rewards that transcends generations. Psalm 112:1-2 says, “Blessed is the man that fears the Lord, that delights greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed” . This Ugandan pastors children, are beneficiaries of this blessing, and we can all see it with our eyes.
Unfortunately, to some people, like Max Jukes of the 17th century, things turned the other way round. Max Jukes life came to the attention of everyone, when sociologist Dugdale, traced his family tree of 42 different men in the New York prison. Max Juke was born in and lived in the state of NewYork in the 19th century. Interestingly, he did not believe in God when America was 95% Christian. He shuned God, talked against God and lived an isolated secular life. He did not believe in Christian training at all and he had married a woman of the same character and behavior. As history can now easily tell us, Jukes’ descendants included: 7 murderers, 60 thieves, 190 prostitutes, 150 other convicts, 310 paupers, and 440 who were physically wrecked by addiction to alcohol and on drugs. Among this list of 1,200 descendants that were studied, 300 died prematurely.
During the same period, on the other hand, Jonathan Edwards preached when Jukes lived. He was one of the most respected preachers in his day. He attended Yale at the age of thirteen and later went on to become the president of Princeton college. Infact, during his days, he was the most educated preacher and theologian of his day. He married his wife Sara in 1727 and they were blessed with eleven children. It’s said that every night, when Mr. Edwards was home, he would spend an hour conversing with his family and then praying a blessing over each child. Through their influence, Jonathan and his wife Sarah passed on a great, godly legacy to their eleven children. An American educator, A.E. Winship decided to trace the descendants of Jonathan Edwards almost 150 years after his death. His findings are remarkable, especially when compared Max Jukes. From this union men have studied 729 descendants with sarah, Jonathan Edwards’ legacy includes: 1 U.S. Vice-President, 1 Dean of a law school, 1 dean of a medical school, 3 U.S. Senators, 3 governors, 3 mayors, 13 college presidents, 30 judges, 60 doctors, 65 professors, 75 Military officers, 80 public office holders, 100 lawyers, 100 clergymen, and 285 college graduates. How may this be explained? Edwards was a godly man, but he was also hard working, intelligent and moral. Furthermore, Winship states, “Much of the capacity and talent, intensity and character of the more than 1,400 of Edwards’ family is due to the wife he married called Sarah”.AS godly man married a godly woman and now history can write to proclaim the truth in God’s word,that the generation of the righteous shall be blessed.
The gospel of 1 John 2:13, the writer takes time to talk to fathers. He says,” I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. There is power in fatherhood my friends, especially godly fatherhood. Many of the problems we see today is a result of men not assuming their godly leadership positions as fathers. Joshua said, me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15. This teaches me and you that leadership in homes is a personal responsibility that cant be delegated. Most of the homes where father take their responsibility seriously, such homes are always pillars in society.
A research was done by one of the American organizations and this was their findings.
1: 25 million children (36.3%) do not live with their fathers.
2: 40% of children in fatherless homes have not seen their father’s in a least 1 year. While 50% of children who live without their fathers have never stepped foot in their father’s home.
3: 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes
4: 85% of children that exhibit behavior disorders are from fatherless homes
5: 80% of rapists are from fatherless homes
6: 71% of high school drop outs are from fatherless homes
7: 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers are from fatherless homes
8: *70% of juveniles in state operated institutions come from fatherless homes
9: 85% of youths in prison are from fatherless homes
10: 70% of teen pregnancies are from fatherless homes
11: 72% of Americans polled recently said the physical absence of fathers is the most serious problem facing America’s families and the world at large.
With this in mind, if you take a look at God’s design for fatherhood, you have to ask every father to take his role seriously and ask himself, ”How am I measuring up to my God given responsibilities? “Fatherhood is not easy but by the grace of God, we must constantly remind ourselves about our roles as children of God. Dukes failed his generation, and if you look at our society today, there is a cry for fatherhood. The worst mistake a father can do is to fail his family in nurturing the godly characteristics that they need for the future. Infact, 1 Tim 5:8 says “if a man if any provide not for his own, (think of providing leadership and Godly mentorship) and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. With God helping us, let us not be the Dukes of our Generation but the Edwards,the Joshua’s and the dependable fathers who’s impact can be felt positively through out generations to come. God bless you